Lipids are highly vulnerable to oxidation, which can be initiated by enzymatic and non-enzymatic processes. The enzymatic process is initiated by lipoxygenases, which are responsible for the oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic, linolenic and arachadonic acid.
These enzymes are found to be responsible for the deterioration, rancidity and loss of flavor in food materials and also for various diseases in the human body, such as Parkinson's disease, cataractogenesis, endotoxin liver injury, and myocardial infarction. (Began G, Sudharshan E and Appu Rao AG Lipids 33 (1998) 1223–1228; Sics H (cd.) Oxidative State, Oxidants and Antioxidants, pp-8, Academic Press, London (1991)). Inhibitors against these enzymes thus have a potential application in both the food and medical sector.
The use and manufacture of various antioxidants have been reviewed by Madhavi, D L and Salunkhe, D K (1994) In Food Additive Toxicology, Maga, J A and Tu, A T (eds) Marcel Dekker, NY 88–177.
Allgayer et al (1984) have reported that therapeutically active compound such as sulphasalazine metabolites are soybean lipoxygenase inhibitors (Allgayer H, Eisenburg J and Paumgartner G Eur J Clin Pharmacol 26 (1984) 449–451)